NIALL Morgan was one of the many who needed to be convinced.
Just as the wraps were being taken off some of the proposed ‘rule enhancements’ brought forward by the Football Review Committee (FRC), there was one that immediately jarred with the Tyrone goalkeeper.
One of the leading exponents of the roving number one out the field, Morgan was initially concerned to read about the proposal from Jim Gavin and the FRC where outfield players will only be permitted to pass to the ‘keeper if they are both inside the large rectangle, or if the goalkeeper has advanced beyond their own 65-metre line.
“I’m speaking as a goalkeeper, when you’re taking a position and you’re making it less attractive for people to play – that’s where it becomes concerning,” said the Edendork clubman.
“It’s so disappointing because you’ve worked hard to make it an attractive position to play – the likes of myself and Rory [Beggan], Odhran Lynch, Graham Brody and Ethan Rafferty.”
That was just over a month ago.
In the coming days, the public will have a first opportunity to make up their minds on the new rule affecting goalkeepers, as well as the other six ‘core’ rule enhancement proposals, which include keeping three players beyond halfway at all times and the new two and four-point scoring system.
After a series of behind-closed-doors ‘sandbox’ games in recent months, the proposed new rules will be trialled live, and broadcast on RTE, at an inter-provincial series in Croke Park this weekend – with Leinster taking on Connacht at 6pm on Friday night, followed by Ulster versus Munster at 8pm.
Interestingly, reports emerged from an in-house game in Garvaghy over the weekend that Morgan was outstanding – perhaps leading to a rethink about the proposed new rule and its impact on goalkeepers.
“Look, Niall’s a top-class goalkeeper, so I think good players will adapt to whatever system or style or rules come in,” said Kieran Donnelly, the Fermanagh boss who will lead Ulster out at Croke Park.
“I do think the new rule suits Niall because he’s such a talented player on the ball, it’s a skillset so high, especially with this next phase of the game when a 12 v 11 can be created inside the attacking half… that’s an overload you can’t mark.
“I think that’s something the likes of Niall can really benefit from, so the onus on the goalkeeper becoming the complete footballer is nearly more important - he has to be fit to stop shots, and then the fact that he can play in the final third just means it’s an extra tool a team has that probably can’t be stopped.
“If a team is patient enough and utilise it well enough, the likes of Niall Morgan will flourish. So I think he enjoyed the game - as well as his long-range point-scoring ability, they’re all factors that will benefit him.”
Having previously worked with Monaghan champions Scotstown before taking over the reins at his native county – as well as coaching teams at Omagh CBS – Donnelly has had a perfect view of football’s evolution at all levels.
And he feels that, with the formation of the FRC, and the role of former Dublin boss Gavin at the head of it, the GAA is listening to concerns from players and managers about the road in which the game was headed.
“One of the points one of the players made over the weekend was that making one or two runs meant receiving the ball as a forward, whereas probably in the way the game had evolved, that was three or four runs against the packed defence and not receiving the ball.
“Players did want the game to open out, and probably the fact that at club level every team was replicating it… at county level, maybe sometimes I didn’t feel it as bad because teams transitioned so fast.
“Like Armagh were in such fantastic condition that they could do it really well, but sometimes at club level the product wasn’t great because when teams were back, maybe they just didn’t transition as fast and maybe got turned over.
“Is there a massive change? Not overly. When you play schools football, or you play club football… when I was involved with Scotstown, and you had three or four really top-class forwards, you wanted to keep them up the pitch and you held three up, so that was your style.
“So I don’t think it’s foreign to the players, but I do feel the players have enjoyed the rules and I suppose the benefit of this weekend will be to see how they evolve in a competitive environment.
“That will probably be the real test of them.”
